The Darkness at The Belasco in Los Angeles, CA on 12-Apr-2016

Renown British glam rockers, The Darkness, brought their Back to the USSA tour to LA for a night of raucous rock n’ roll.

Near the end of last nightâ€™s show, The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, admonished the crowd to tell their friends that they are playing and that they are “awesome.” Well, friends, I am here to tell you just that, The Darkness is awesome, and you need to see them if they come to a stop near you.

The Darkness debuted in 2003 with Permission to Land, which shot to No. 1 on the UK charts, selling 1.5 million copies and winning tons of awards including Kerrang!â€™s Best Live Band of 2004. They subsequently broke up, reuniting in 2011 to tour the US and Lady Gagaâ€™s Born This Way Ball in Europe and Africa.

The Darkness are currently touring the US in support of their fourth album, Last of Our Kind, with new member Rufus Taylor, son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, on drums. Their show at the Belasco proved that they are still one of the best live bands around, with the focus being Justin Hawkinsâ€™ sassy, hip-swinging, Jaggeresque manner. The band’s sound and look are both immersed in 70s glam metal; thereâ€™s almost a Spinal Tap feel to them, but they arenâ€™t a parody band as is Steel Panther.

They played in Los Angeles to a capacity crowd, opening their set with â€œBarbarian,â€ from their latest album. The crowd roared their approval as the band played through a selection of songs old and new, revving into high gear when Hawkins switched to keyboard for â€œFriday Night,â€ and exploded during fan favorites â€œEvery Inch of You,â€ and â€œGet Your Hands Off My Woman.â€

By the time the set ended with â€œI Believe in a Thing Called Love,â€ a song VH1 had declared one of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs, the crowded was fully engaged, singing along to every word.

The band returned to the stage to perform â€œLove on the Rocks with No Ice,â€ with Hawkins riding piggyback through the audience while playing killer guitar riffs, stopping to throw a guitar pick to Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins, who was watching the show from the balcony, before calling it a night.

Up-and-coming English rockers, RavenEye, opened the show with a high-energy set of jam-heavy blues rock.

About The Author

Kathy is a freelance concert photographer based in Los Angeles, CA.
Kathy started photographing bands in the early 80s, where she was a fixture on the L.A. rock scene. She returned to concert photography in 2011, starting Wicked Goddess Photography.
She is editor-in-chief of Spice of Wickedness, and regularly contributes content to several sites, including Loudwire, Diffuser, and Find Your Seen.
Kathy can be found on twitter @wickedgoddess.